The Big Combo

A policeman has spent years chasing a crime boss named Brown with no evidence whatsoever. His obsession stopped being professional some time ago, because he is in love with the man's girlfriend. Brown does no violence himself; two men beside him handle it while he watches. What holds the film up is the image. John Alton's frames are among the most extreme in noir: black fills half the composition, faces are lit by a single source. When the budget would not cover the airport hangar finale, Alton had the whole set draped in black velvet, added fog and created the sense of a place with one revolving light. That closing shot is now treated as the emblem of the style. Joseph H. Lewis directed, with Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte and Jean Wallace. Its flaws: the script is scattered, the passivity of the woman is uncomfortable, and the torture scene is left half stated because of the censorship of the period. Who it is for: viewers who watch noir for the image. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a tight crime story.